Follow Your Heart
by SunSetsFlashOfGreen
Summary: After Dumbledore's death, everything had gone downhill. Harry was a wreck, Ron wasn't there for him, and Hermione couldn't do a thing about it. Dumbledore thought something like this might happen and so he left Hermione a mission.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger grasped a small piece of ripped, crumpled paper in her right hand as she walked toward her former school. She walked faster as she got closer and closer to her destination.

_"Ms. Granger?" A dark clothed wizard stood at the door of the burrow next to Arthur Weasley. He had chestnut brown hair, light green eyes, a long nose and pale skin. His forehead had permanent worry lines. He looked like a normal man except for his hands. His hands looked as if someone had just lit them on fire. _

_"Yes. I am Hermione Granger." Hermione stood from her place on the couch and walked over. _

_"My name is Samuel Leonidas and I am from the ministry. I was put in charge of Ablus Dumbledore's will." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a large, thick book. "He left this to you." Hermione grabbed the book from him. Samuel Leonidas reached into his pocket and pulled out a tightly sealed letter with Hermione's name on it. "He also left this to you. We checked for and curses or dark magic and found none." Hermione took the letter from him and saw some fingerprint marks on it. _

_"You tried to open it didn't you?" Hermione exclaimed. Samuel Leonidas looked away ashamed. "The ministry never can leave things alone. They always have to pry so they can feel like they know something. They want to feel like they still know what's going on in the world." Hermione felt all of the anger and sadness she had been bottling up coming out. "So you disrespect the dead, you disrespect Dumbledore's wishes, and try to read what left for his loved ones. You disgust me." She snatched the letter away from him and walked upstairs. _

Hermione walked past the destroyed gates of Hogwarts and cast a disillusion charm on herself so she would not be seen as she walked up the path toward Hogwarts. She felt like an ice cold egg was being cracked down her back. She held her hands up and watched them disappear like someone was erasing her.

After her feet disappeared she took off her backpack and, while holding on to the strap of her bag, cast the charm so that would blend in as well. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked down the long path toward Hogwarts.

_Hermione stormed upstairs angry and aggravated at the ministry's inability to keep to themselves about private matters. She shut the door to Ginny's room and locked it. Ginny was staying with her brother's Fred and George, helping them clean up and run their shop for the summer because Angelina had gone to see her family for 2 weeks. _

_Hermione sat on the bed, with the book Dumbledore had left her, and tried to calm herself down. She had been bottling up all of her anger after Dumbledore died. She had to be strong for Harry. Harry had been crying in his room every night since Dumbledore died and occasionally she heard him talking in his sleep. He had been saying things like, 'Why?Why me?' or 'Why did you leave me Dumbledore?' _

_Ron had been no help when Harry had tried to tell him the troubles he was having. Ron just looked mortified couldn't handle the fact that Harry was having doubts about winning the war. Harry didn't tell anyone else because he was afraid that he would get the same reaction. He didn't even go to Hermione and she only found out about him talking to Ron because Ron told her. _

_She felt her eyes begin to burn and a lump form in her throat. That was what happened when she was about to cry. She couldn't cry, she didn't want anyone to see her cry. She had to be strong for everyone. Hermione had to be strong for Harry, for Ronald, Ginny, and even for Arthur and Molly Weasley. Hermione could tell that Arthur and Molly sensed that Harry was having trouble and having his doubts and they began to worry as well. _

_Hermione swallowed back her tears and breathed deeply until she regained composure. The letter that Dumbledore left her was laying on the nightstand near her bed and she reached for it. Her name was spelled perfectly in cursive on the front of the envelope. She smiled slightly at her memory of Dumbledore claiming that one of his flaw's was that he was a perfectionist. The letter opened itself once she pressed a finger against it's seal. She smiled slightly once more at Dumbledore genius. What a man to put enchantments on it to prevent others, such as the ministry, from reading it's content. _

_Hermione pulled the letter out from the envelope and unfolded it. _

**Dear Hermione, **

**If you are reading this then I have, unfortunately, have passed away. I have known that I would die for quite some time now. As I felt death coming closer and closer I noticed a change in Harry. He had become distant, even from those closest to him. He had begun to shut himself off from those closest to him. He can not win this war alone, but he is under the impression that he must. He believes he is saving everyone by trying to win on his own, but in reality he is killing everyone. **

**You, Hermione, are a beautiful and intelligent woman. You are the brightest witch of your age and that is why I am trusting you with this mission. I hope that you will accept it. **

**It is to dangerous to tell you in this letter. Further instructions can be found in my office. **

**Do not tell anyone else. **

**Remember, Follow your heart. **

**Yours truly, **

**Albus Dumbledore **

Hermione reached the broom shed by the playing field. She quietly opened it and looked inside. Two beaten up brooms were left. She reached for the one in better shape and left the broom shed.

She flew up past the astronomy tower and by the open window that was another entrance to the Headmaster's office. She stuck her head through and looked around. She searched for anyone that might be in the room. She heard someone reading under their breath. She looked over the small ledge of the Headmaster's small indoor balcony and saw Severus Snape sitting at Dumbledore's desk slouched over some papers.

Hermione wanted to curse him right then and there. She wanted him to suffer for what he did to Dumbledore but she had a mission do to for Dumbledore. 'Soutier.' Hermione thought. It was a spell that caused heavy sleep for a few hours. It was a spell of her own creation that she had been casting in secret upon Harry so her could get to sleep and stay asleep.

Hermione waited for a few minutes until she heard Snape's slight snoring. As quietly and gracefully as she could, Hermione entered the Headmaster's office. After placeing the broomstick on the ground she walked quietly down the small staircase until she was a few feet away from Snape. She looked at him. His face had worry lines in them. She resisted the urge to curse him into oblivion for killing Dumbledore and making her life a living hell. She wanted to kill him for making her feel like dying every night. Instead she searched around the room for any clues as to where Dumbledore might have hidden the continuation of the letter.

She pulled out her wand and cast the disillusion charm upon herself. She watched her hands come into view. Then she saw her arms and legs come into view and felt her whole body temperature increase. She glanced over at Snape to make sure he was still asleep. His soft snores could still be heard.

Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out Dumbledore's letter. She re-read it, searching for clues. Her eyes stopped at 'follow your heart'. She mouthed the words, wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion. She let out a small annoyed groan and stuffed the letter back in her pocket.

Her eyes scanned the room. Everything was neat, tidy, and perfectly organized. The only thing that was a mess was a pile of cards by the window. Hermione walked over to it. She wondered if this was the clue she was looking for.

The card deck was in a small pile in the center of the window sill. Every card was face down except for one card. The ace of hearts was sitting on top of the pile. She reached for the card and as soon as her fingers grazed the edge of the card it transformed into a letter. She smirked at how clever Dumbledore was.

**Dear Hermione, **

** You are a beautiful and intelligent woman. I believe that makes you fully qualified for this assignment. I want you to travel back to 1944, Tom Riddle's seventh year at Hogwarts, and prevent him from ever becoming Lord Voldemort. You must show him that he can love.**

**I realize how drastically this shall change the future but now I believe that that is our only option. I hope that you shall accept. **

**The spell that shall send you back in time is' Listiria Groutius'. **

**Good Luck,**

**Albus Dumbledore**

Hermione was in shock. She was to travel back decades before she was born, and rewrite history. She couldn't believe that Dumbledore was asking her to make Voldemort fall in love with her.

A load snore from Snape caused her to snap out of her thoughts. She glanced at the spell once more before stuffing it in her pocket.

"Listiria Groutius."


	2. Chapter 2

"What should we do with her Armando?"

"I don't know Albus."

Hermione was waking up from her daze. All she remembered was saying the spell and then... nothing. Everything was dark after that. A small groan escaped her lips when she felt a huge pain in her head, heart and stomach.

"Did you hear that?"

"She must be waking up."

The pain grew and grew. Her head was pounding, her heart rate quickened, and her stomach was in knots. Another small groan escaped her lips. She wondered if this was a side effect of the spell.

The pain shifted straight to her heart and then subsided. Hermione left out a relieved sigh. She then felt a hand grab hers.

"Miss. Are you awake?" Hermione slowly opened her eyes. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. "My name is Albus Dumbledore."

"Hermione Granger." She quietly whispered. Her eyes suddenly went wide as she realized her mistake. She had just told someone in the past her true identity.

"Where are your parent's Ms. Granger?" Dumbledore asked. His eyes held genuine kindness in them. It had been a long time since someone really cared about her well being. She looked away from him as she lied.

"They're dead."She said quietly, amazed at how easily she was able to lie. "We were on the war front. When my parents sent me here more than half our army had been killed." Hermione continued to look at her hands as she lied. "They thought that I would be safe here. You see they had heard that Hogwarts was a safe place and they had heard of you and all your accomplishments and thought that I would be safer here." Hermione finally looked up at Dumbledore and was surprised to find that he had compassion and regret behind his eyes.

The man standing behind Dumbledore finally spoke, "I am very sorry for your loss. You may stay here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore let go of Hermione's hand and stood up.

"You are very lucky Ms. Granger, the school term doesn't start until tomorrow. You may stay here until then and tomorrow night you will be sorted into a house." Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled.

"Sir I am not stupid. I was home-schooled and was being taught all advanced subjects. Advanced potions, herbology, defense against the dark arts..." Dumbledore cut her off.

"Yes I figured that you would be bright if you were on the war front. They would never let a mere child fight. Not to mention the cloud of dark magic that was following you as we brought you here." Dumbledore's nice eyes became dark again. He turned to the man standing behind him, "By the way Armando, I think that Jonathon still needs help finding the teacher's lounge. I saw him wandering about on the 2nd floor." Armando rolled his eyes and walked toward the doors of the infirmary mumbling under his breath.

"Claimed he picked up things quickly... Can't pick up a simple route to the teacher's lounge... One of these days..." Armando stopped right before he walked out of the doors and turned to face Hermione.

"Goodnight Ms. Granger. Get some rest. I will have someone bring you a uniform tomorrow."Dippet said. "By the way my name is Armando Dippet. I am the headmaster of Hogwarts. If you have any questions at all don't hesitate..."

"Yes I do Headmaster. I came here with a suitcase, where is it?" Hermione quickly cut in. Dippet said nothing but merely pointed toward a large trunk lying next to her bed. "Thank you." Dippet nodded and left the room. Dumbledore turned to face Hermione.

"Do you know if you have any other living relatives? Aunts, uncles, cousins..."

"No sir." Dumbledore nodded.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen." Hermione replied.

"You said you were home- schooled." Hermione nodded. "I shall put you in advanced classes then. If the work is too much I will place you in a regular class." Dumbledore stood up. "I shall give your your schedule tomorrow, along with your uniform, and school supplies."

"Thank you sir." Dumbledore smiled and his eyes lit up with a familiar twinkle.

"Tomorrow night you will be sorted into your house. Now there are four..." Hermione cut him off.

"I have read Hogwarts, A history." Dumbledore nodded.

"I thought you might have." Dumbledore laughed and Hermione couldn't help but smile. "Get some rest Miss Granger."

"Hermione."

"Goodnight, Hermione." After saying this, Dumbledore walked out of the infirmary.

Hermione laid back down on the bed and went to sleep.

_Hermione opened her eyes and found herself standing alone in the middle of a forest. The moon shone through the leaves of the trees leaving the forest in dark enchanted light. She heard twigs snap underneath her feet as she walked on. She was following a small path that had been made. She could see the fresh footprints that marked the path. _

_Then Hermione saw Dumbledore emerge from the trees. He smiled then turned around and ran. Hermione ran after him. Her footsteps falling in with his own. They ran farther and farther away from their starting point until they reached the edge of the wood. Dumbledore stopped and stood with his back to Hermione. Hermione stopped and was breathing heavily, Dumbledore's breathing was barely audible. Hermione walked toward Dumbledore. _

_"Professor?" Dumbledore turned around and smiled. He still had the same twinkle in his eyes. He still had rosy cheeks and a long white beard. Hermione smiled softly Dumbledore. _

_Dumbledore reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out the ace of hearts. He handed it to Hermione and said "Remember to follow your heart." Hermione reached out to take the card and as soon as she did he vanished. The ace of hearts floated to the ground. Hermione stared at it, unsure whether or not she should pick it up. _

_A small hissing sound filled the once quiet night. Hermione looked down at the ground to find a small silver and green striped snake slithering toward her. _

_The snake stopped before the ace of hearts card and bit it. The snake had the card in it's mouth as it slithered up her leg. Hermione didn't flinch or tense up as the snake shimmied up her side and coiled around her forearm. The snake tilted it's head up and opened it's mouth so she could take the card from it. _

_Hermione took the ace of hearts card to find that there was a bite hole right though the heart. _


	3. Chapter 3

I would like to that my reviewers and subscribers. Please keep reading and reviewing!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea of this story.

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Tom Riddle sat at the slytherin table surrounded by his followers. Cygnus Black sat on his right while Abraxas Malfoy sat on his left talking to Crabbe, Goyle and Nott. Everyone else was eavesdropping.

Tom smirked at the people that were struggling to listen in. He knew he was the most popular boy in school and that everyone wanted to be his friend. He didn't need friends. He saw no need for friends when he had followers.

"I heard that she appeared out of nowhere."Gabriel Nott said. Tom listened in. "She is supposed to be in our year." Tom was about to ask who they were talking about when the doors to the great hall opened and a girl stepped through. She had beautiful wavy brown hair , tan skin, and she glided over to the sorting hat.

Headmaster Dippet was up standing up at the professor's dining table addressing the entire great hall. "May I introduce Hermione Granger. She will be entering Hogwarts as a seventh year." After Headmaster Dippet said this, she walked up to the stool and Dumbledore placed the sorting hat on her head. The sorting hat came alive but Hermione did not jump when he spoke like most others. She merely sat there with a blank expression on her face.

"Interesting. Very interesting. You, Miss Granger certainly are unique. That makes you unfit for Hufflepuff, and you would not grow in Ravenclaw." Hermione's expression still remained unreadable. "Hmmm... you are strong, brave and stubborn; a true Griffindor." Hermione didn't even smile at this statement. She knew which house she had to be in if she were to complete her mission easily. "Yet you have evil in you. You are cunning and sly." Hermione's heart skipped a beat. "You have talent, so much talent. Where should I put you?" The entire great hall was silent. Everyone was hanging on the sorting hat's words. No person had ever taken so long to be sorted. Hermione took a deep breath and knew that her mission would be easier if she was in slytherin. She could get closer to Tom Riddle easily. "You will be great....SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat screamed. The slytherin table erupted in cheers. Some of the boys even stood up and cheered. Her eyes fell to a boy who was not standing up or even smiling. He had dark hair and pale skin. His face looked as if it were carved out of marble. He was beautiful but his eyes were what attracted Hermione the most. His eyes were gray with flecks of red in them and he was staring at her.. He looked amazed and confused at the same time.

Hermione walked over to the edge of the slytherin table and sat down. She realized she had just seen the future Lord Voldemort. She had just seen Tom Riddle.

Hermione was lost in her thoughts while a girl with shiny black hair approached her. She had pale white skin, thin lips, and a pointy nose. Her eyes unnerved Hermione. They were beady black circles that seemed cold and violent. Though her voice was surprisingly light and airy.

"Hello, my name is Eileen Prince. I'm the slytherin prefect." Eileen told her. Hermione's eyes went wide when she realized who she had just met. Eileen Prince was Severus Snapes mother!

"Nice to meet you. I'm..." Eileen cut her off.

"Hermione Granger. I believe everyone in the great hall now knows who you are. After all, Headmaster Dippet just announced your name and singled you out." She smiled and her whole face brightened. "May I sit down?" Eileen sat down without even waiting for a response. "Would you like me to show you around Hogwarts? I know this place like I know the back of my hand." Hermione smiled at her. Eileen seemed so friendly for a slytherin. Most slytherins that she knew were shallow, heartless and unfriendly.

Eileen started talking to her. She talked about herself, mainly. Hermione sat there and listened until she felt like someone was staring at her. She turned around to meet the gray and red- flaked eyes of Tom Riddle. Hermione wondered why he was staring at her. His eyebrows were squeezed together in confusion. Suddenly Hermione felt someone trying to push themselves into her mind. She quickly pushed them out, never breaking eye contact with Tom Riddle. Tom suddenly looked as if someone had slapped him across the face. Hermione had learned Legiminns on her own. She had gotten a few pointers from Harry when he was learning the skill from Snape in their fifth year at Hogwarts.

'Hermione?Hermione?" Eileen waved her hand in front of Hermione's face, hoping to catch her attention. Hermione finally looked away from Tom Riddle. "Why does Tom look like you just spat in his face?"

"I don't know." Hermione quickly lied.

"So you know him, do you? I'm not surprised you do. He is, after all, the most popular boy, no. Most popular person in Hogwarts."Hermione wasn't surprised at Eileen saying this. Then she felt eyes on her back again. She could feel him listening in on their conversation.

"Why does he keep staring at me?" Hermione wondered out loud.

"I don't know. Then again you did take unusually long to get sorted. No one has ever taken that long. Not even Tom Riddle." Hermione's eyes lit up at this fact. Eileen noticed this and continued. "Oh yes, Tommy boy over there took a long time to be sorted. I'd say a little under a minute. Most slytherins usually take about 30 seconds, maximum."

"How long was I up there?"

"About two minutes." Hermione was worried about this fact. It meant that she might be singled out in slytherin as 'the weird one'. It wouldn't help her mission. "Come on Hermione. It is time to go." Eileen stood up and Hermione followed. Everyone else filed out of the great hall.

Eileen lead Hermione down to the dungeons where the slytherin dorms were. Eileen chewed Hermione's ear off all the way down to the dungeons. She talked about everyone in their year. She talked about who was a couple, who was cheating on who, and the teachers they would have.

Eileen lead her up to the girls dormitories where they met two other girls. "Hermione this is Christine." She pointed to a girl with curly black hair and a mole below her ear. Eileen then pointed to a girl with long, straight, dark brown hair and large brown eyes. "This is Gabrielle. They'll be your new roommates." Eileen then sat down on a bed and motioned for Hermione to take the one right next to her. "Welcome to slytherin." A shiver ran down Hermione's back.

Hermione lay awake in the green silk sheets. Her eyes stared at the ceiling of her four poster bed and listened to the loud snores coming from Eileen and Christine. Gabrielle slept soundly with her curtains pulled shut.

Hermione shut her eyes and tried to fall asleep. As her eyes shut, an image of Harry came to the front of her mind. He looked happy and care- free. Then an image of him sitting next to Dumbledore's dead body came up. An image of Ron came to the front of her mind. He was all bloody from battle. Ginny appeared next to him. Worry lines creased her face. More and more people she knew and loved came to the front of her mind.

Hermione felt her throat itch and her eyes burn as the image of her parents came to mind. She wanted to be held in her father's arms. She wanted to have her mother pet her hair and tell her everything was alright. Hermione knew that would never happen. Her parents didn't even know who she was. Hermione had erased her parents memory of her. Her parents didn't even know they had a daughter.

A large pain in her head took away the images of her parents. It made her head throb and ache. The pain began moving down toward her heart and stomach. It felt like it was trying to rip her apart. Hermione knew she couldn't wait for the pain to end. She didn't know when it would subside.

Hermione slipped on her black flats and threw on her cloak. The pain seemed to grow larger by the minute. Hermione would not let it control her. She walked as quietly as she could out of the dormitories and the slytherin common room.

Hermione walked quickly and silently to the only place she thought she could make some kind of remedy. She hope the potions room was in the same place it was in her time. Hermione thought of how she would break in to the potion professor's ingredients. A

As Hermione turned another corner a wave of pain came over her. It was traveling through her body, toward her legs. Hermione let a groan escape her lips. "What are you doing out of bed?" A voice whispered. Hermione gathered her courage and strength and turned around. Gray eyes with flecks of red stared at her. Tom Riddle's eyes grew wide with shock. He thought he had just caught a regular student out of bed. He didn't imagine that he would meet the mysterious girl that everyone had been talking about. Tom regained his composure and asked again, "What are you doing out of bed?"

Another wave of pain came over her and Hermione groaned again. She didn't have time to come up with an explanation. Hermione lifted her wand and, without uttering one word, cast her sleeping spell on him. She then ran to the potion room, broke the lock, and ran inside. Another wave of pain, greater than the other pains, hit her. She held back a moan as she broke the lock on what she hoped was the closet that held the ingredients.

To her relief, she was right. Bottles and boxes filled with ingredients lined the walls. Hermione searched through the closet and picked out a few ingredients. She took eye of newt, spider's legs, and hippogriff feathers over to a small cauldron and put them in. After five minutes she had made a remedy. It was supposed to cure all pains. Sort of like the wizarding world's version of Tylenol. Hermione but it into a bottle and put back the ingredients she had borrowed.

Hermione took a sip of the remedy and felt the pain vanish. She hoped that the pain would not return, but she wasn't certain that it would stay away. She prayed that the pain would stay away the entire time she walked back to the slytherin dorms. She still couldn't call it her dorms, not yet.

Hermione was pleased to find Gabrielle, Christine, and Eileen still asleep. She smiled slightly, climbed into bed, and pulled the curtains off her four poster bed shut. Hermione closed her tired eyes and went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I am SO sorry for not updating sooner. It's been hard to get to a computer lately.

Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing.

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"What happened to you last night?" Cygnus asked Tom Riddle as they walked to potions class. "You disappeared last night. I thought you were just..."

"I appreciate your concern but it is none of your business." Tom said in a monotone. In truth, he didn't know what happened to himself. All he remembered was finding the new girl, Hermione, out of bed. Then... nothing; Everything was blank. 'She must have cursed me.' Tom Riddle thought as he and Cygnus entered the potions classroom where many people were already gathered.

Tom scanned the classroom for the new girl but he didn't find her. He did see Abraxas motioning for him to join him at the back of the classroom. Cygnus sat down next to Nott and motioned for Tom to join him. He walked slowly over and sat down next to Abraxas just as Eileen and Hermione walked in the room. Tom stared at Hermione. She looked tired and had slight bags under her eyes. Yet she still had some unique light in her. Her step had a little spring in it and her eyes were wide. She looked much better than she did last night.

"Isn't she gorgeous?" Abraxas said. "I plan to make her mine." Tom was about to answer when Professor Slughorn entered the room.

"Good morning class. Welcome back to school! For those of you that don't know, my name is Professor Slughorn and I will be your potions teacher." He smiled at Hermione. "You must be the new student I was informed about." Hermione nodded.

"Yes sir." She replied with a smile.

"Well it is always great to have a new mind eager for learning." Slughorn turned to address the entire class. "As you know this is advanced potions making. All of you should be very proud of yourselves, for only the smartest of the bunch can make it into this class." As Slughorn said this Eileen sat up higher in her seat. "Now everyone gather around."

The whole class followed Slughorn as he walked over to his desk where two covered cauldrons and a small bottle sat. "Now..." Slughorn took the lid off of the first cauldron, "Can anyone tell me what this potion is?" Everyone peered into the boiling cauldron, but no one raised their hand, not even Tom Riddle. Hermione spoke up.

"That is verituserium. It forces the drinker to tell the truth." Slughorn smiled.

"Excellent Miss Granger. 15 points to Slytherin." Slughorn covered the first cauldron again and pulled the top off of the second cauldron. Hermione suddenly smelled everything that she loved. She smelled freshly mowed grass, new parchment, and spearmint toothpaste. "Can anyone tell me what this potion is?" Tom Riddle raised his hand before Hermione could blink.

"That is the strongest love potion in the world." Slughorn smiled. "It smells different to every person." Slughorn beamed at Tom.

"Very good Mister Riddle. 15 points to Slytherin." Slughorn put the lid back on the cauldron and picked up the small, clear bottle. "This, class, is Felix felicitous otherwise known as liquid luck." Hermione rolled her eyes. Slughorn was probably going to ask them to make the potion called Liquid Death. If someone were to brew a correct potion of living death they would win the bottle of liquid luck. "Today you are going to brew Living Death. The instructions can be found on page 10 of your books." Hermione giggled softly as everyone flipped through the pages of their books. "If one of you manages to brew a correct potion of Living Death you will win the bottle of liquid luck. Good luck to you all, you'll need it. No one has ever been able to brew Living Death correctly."

Everyone immediately flipped to page 10 of their books and went to work. Hermione flipped to the instructions in her book and giggled again. This book had the same bad instructions as it did in her time. Luckily for her, she remember exactly how Harry had done it. She walked over to the supplies and picked out her ingredients.

"Hello." Hermione turned around. A smug looking boy with long blond hair was looking down at her. He had cold black eyes and a smug look on his face. He was the spitting image of Lucius Malfoy. She could only assume that she was standing in front of his father. She ignored him and collected her ingredients instead. "My name is Abraxas Malfoy and you are..." He drew out his last word wanting Hermione to finish it.

"Busy." She replied and walked away with her ingredients. Hermione set all of them down near her cauldron and proceeded to mix all of her ingredients. Abraxas followed her over.

"I was actually searching for your name." Abraxas said in a sickly sweet voice. Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Oh my god. He's trying to be charming!' She thought.

"Hermione. Now if you don't mind I am trying to work." She turned her back on him but he moved in front of her.

"But I do mind." He laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Pardon?"

"Why are you here at Hogwarts? Where did you come from?"

"Why are you so inquisitive?" Hermione asked while crushing beans and squeezing the juice into the boiling cauldron.

"A guy can't be interested in a beautiful girl?" Hermione rolled her eyes and crushed the beans even harder.

"If I tell you will you go away?" Abraxas laughed.

"You are so quick to get rid of me." Hermione began stirring the potion. "Alright. If you tell me I will go away."

"I am here at Hogwarts because my parents, who are now dead, believed that I would be safer here. I left the war front to come to Hogwarts. Now go." Abraxas stood there shocked.

"You are lying." Hermione looked away from her potion and stared into his eyes. She wasn't _really _lying. She was fighting in a war; just not the war that was going on in the current time period. She kept a straight expression as she stared into his eyes. "You were really on the war front?" Hermione said nothing, but she nodded her head. It was, after all, partially true.

"I kept my word, now you keep yours." Abraxas still stared at her, astonished. He finally broke eye contact and walked away. as soon as his back was turned, Hermione smirked and went back to work.

After about 10 minutes of work, Hermione had finally created a seemingly perfect cauldron of Living Death. She smiled at the clear liquid. It was more perfect that her last attempt. 'Don't get too confident.' She told herself. 'Let Slughorn tell you if your potion is perfect or not.' She turned around to see Slughorn stop at a boys potion. The boy looked exactly like a younger Sirius Black.

"Mister Black this potion is not up to your usual standards."His face sank. Hermione stared at the boy, racking her brain for any memories of Sirius talking about his family. Slughorn patted him on the shoulder and moved on to the next cauldron. "Oh Mister Malfoy. You haven't even come close to completing you potion." Abraxas didn't even seem bothered by the disappointed look on Slughorn's face. "Maybe next time you should concentrate on the assignment instead of talking to Miss Granger." Hermione snapped out of her memories and kept a blank expression on her face. She didn't want to give Abraxas any encouragement nor did she want Slughorn to think she wanted to talk to Abraxas.

Slughorn moved onto the next cauldron. "Mister Riddle. I trust you made a better potion than your friend Abraxas here." Slughorn looked into the cauldron and Hermione leaned over a little. She hoped that he didn't win the bottle. "It seem like a correctly brewed cauldron." Slughorn took a leaf out of his pocket and dropped it into the cauldron. It exploded upon contact. "I'm amazed that not even my best student could brew a correct Living Death potion." He walked away. "It appears that no one has been able to..." Hermione cut him off.

"Sir, you never checked my potion." Hermione said. A boy laughed.

"There is no way a girl brewed the potion correctly." A mousy looking boy said.

"Now Mister Nott that is not polite." Slughorn walked over to Hermione's cauldron and looked in. His eyes went wide in amusement. He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a leaf and dropped it in. The leaf sizzled but still remained afloat. "It's perfect." The entire class gasped. "The first time in 30 years." He ushered Hermione to the front of the class. Everyone gathered around as Slughorn took the bottle of liquid luck off his desk and handed it to Hermione. "Congratulations." Hermione took the vile. "Use it wisely."

Hermione muttered a thank you and stuffed the vile in her pocket. She rushed back and collected her bag. She slung the bag over her shoulder and was about to walk out of the room when Slughorn stopped her.

"Miss Granger would you stay a moment?" Hermione walked to his desk. Eileen walked past her.

"I'll see you later." She whispered. Hermione nodded and walked toward Slughorn. Once everyone was out of the room Slughorn began.

"That was amazing Miss Granger. You should feel very proud of yourself. No one in my entire 30 years of teaching has ever brewed Living Death correctly." Hermione smiled. "I was wondering if you would like to join my little club. Only the best of the best get accepted." Hermione . "You have certainly proven yourself worthy."

"Yes sir. I would be honored." Hermione said as calmly as she could. Slughorn's face lit up. "I should be going sir. I'll be late to class." Slughorn nodded and Hermione turned to walk out.

"Look for my owl Miss Granger."

"What did he want?" Eileen asked as they walked to their last class before dinner.

"He asked me to join his club. The..."

"Slug Club." Eileen finished for her.

"Are you in it?" Hermione asked. She hoped she would know someone in the club. She did know that Tom Riddle was in the club, that was the rel reason she joined. Still, she would have liked to have someone she was friends with in the club. Eileen shook her head.

"You are the first girl who has been asked to join." Hermione's face sank a little in disappointment. They walked in silence for a little bit.

"Who else is in the club?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence.

"Abraxas Malfoy, I think you know him." She smiled. Hermione nodded for her to continue. "Cygnus Black..." Hermione's eyes lit up. She knew that name! That was the name of Sirius' uncle! She recognized it as one of the cigarette burns in the Black's family tapestry. "...and Gabriel Nott. Tom Riddle, Crabbe and Goyle, and a few other slytherins." Eileen said as they entered the defense against the dark arts classroom. Hermione and Eileen took seats at the front of the classroom as the professor walked in. He was a young looking man, perhaps twenty- six or twenty- seven, with blond hair and blue green eyes.

"Hello class. I trust you all had a good summer?" There were some people who muttered yes and some who muttered no. Most of the girls just sighed a yes and stared lovingly at him. Hermione looked around the classroom to find most of the girls fawning over the professor. Even Eileen was drooling over him. Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust. The professor noticed this and walked over to her. "Hello. You must be the new student I was told about. Hermione Granger I presume?" Hermione nodded. "My name is Professor Montani. I'll be your defense against the dark arts teacher this year." He smiled at her at turned his attention back to the rest of the class. "Everyone take your wands out and form a straight line." Everyone rushed to do so. Eileen dragged Hermione toward the front of the line. Professor Montani then flicked his wand and all the desks were pushed to the side. "Since today is our first day, I was thinking of having a little fun." He then summoned a large, dark trunk. The trunk shook and everyone took a step back. "Now who wants to take a guess at what is in here?"

Hermione's hand went up when she saw no one else raise their hand. Professor Montani pointed to Hermione. "It's a Bogart." Professor Montani smiled again and nodded. Hermione continued, "Bogart's are shapeless creatures that take the form of what ever scares the person most that is the closest to them. They are known to reside in dark, closed spaces. Such as trunks, closets, and even desk drawers. The spell against them is Ridiculous. If the spell is performed correctly, the Bogart will be transformed into something that will amuse the person most."

"Very good Miss Granger. Twenty- five points to slytherin." Professor Montani said. "I would like everyone in the class to say the spell, without your wands." The class all said 'Ridiculous'. "Very good. Now when it is your turn up here I want you to think of the funniest image in the world and say the spell." He then walked over to the person at the front of the line. "Mister Crouch, what frightens you most?"

"A bad test grade." The class laughed.

"Okay." Professor Montani got a firm grip on his wand. "Are you ready? I'm going to release the Bogart." The boy gripped his wand as the professor opened the trunk. A large piece of paper with idiot written in bright red ink across the page came out.

"Ridiculous!" Crouch screamed. The paper was transformed into a giant paper airplane that flew across the classroom. It landed and the next person stepped up. The classroom was filled with laughter when Abraxas and Cygnus walked up to them.

"Hello Hermione." Abraxas said in his sickly sweet voice.

"Go away Abraxas." Eileen sneered.

"I was talking to Hermione." He snapped. Abraxas and Eileen glared at each other while Cygnus stared at Hermione.

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Hermione." Hermione extended her hand to Cygnus. Cygnus took it and, instead of shaking it, kissed it.

"Cygnus Black." He replied. Hermione couldn't help but smile.

"It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Abraxas looked at the two with jealousy in his eyes. Hermione couldn't help but smirk at Abraxas' jealousy over something that wasn't there. He reminded her a bit of an over jealous Ron.

"So, Hermione, what are you afraid of." Abraxas asked. Hermione finally looked at him.

"You talking to me." Cygnus and Eileen laughed.

"Funny." Abraxas said sarcastically. "What are you really afraid of?" Abraxas asked again. He moved closer to her. Hermione was about to tell him off when she appeared at the front of the line. Abraxas smiled before he stepped aside. "I guess I'm about to find out."

The Bogart flipped through many shapes and objects until finally taking the form of an older Dumbledore. The whole class was silent as they stared at this older Dumbledore. Their were patches of blood all over his body and his glasses were cracked. He stared at Hermione, his familiar twinkle was gone from his eyes.

"You failed." Hermione's eyes went wide. She raised her wand and pointed it at the bogart.

"You're wrong." She said in a small whisper. "Ridiculous." The bogart changed shape to Abraxas Malfoy in a red halter dress and heels. The entire class erupted in laughter. Even Montani was laughing.

"That was brilliant!" Eileen exclaimed as they sat down in the great hall for lunch. "I don't think I've seen Abraxas run so fast!" Hermione smirked as Eileen went on and on about how amazing what she did was and what she missed when she left the class.

"Hermione that was so funny!" Christine said as she approached the table. Gabrielle and Cygnus followed behind her.

"My stomach hurts! I was laughing so hard after I saw Abraxas in that dress I..." Cygnus cut Gabrielle off.

"I told her that it would look way better on me." Everyone laughed except for Hermione. She was still shaken up from the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She had been forgetting about her mission and seeing that older, destroyed Dumbledore made her realize what she came here to do.

Halfway through dinner Hermione's head began to ache. She excused herself from dinner and went to get some fresh air. Tom Riddle watched her get up from the Slytherin table and walk out the doors of the great hall before calling over Cygnus.

"You are close with Hermione Granger, are you not?" Tom Riddle asked Cygnus.

"Yes."

"I want you to follow her. See where she goes at night." Cygnus nodded and stood up. "Don't tell anyone else." Cygnus nodded and walked out of the great hall.

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